1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an agent apparatus which supplies a plurality of information in an easily-understandable format to a driver of a vehicle, and assists the driver by setting the status of the vehicle in accordance with his commands to a status which is suitable for him.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional agent apparatus is provided in a vehicle, and displays information relating to conditions of the vehicle, such as its position and status, and warnings, route guides, and the like corresponding to the conditions, on a display as human expressions and movements. Since the agent apparatus displays the information visually, it has an advantage that the driver can easily understand the information.
However, the conventional agent apparatus has security problems, since it does not recognize individuals. Although persons who ride in the vehicle have individual preferences, the agent apparatus always responds in the same manner, and cannot respond so as to suit individual preferences.
The present invention has been achieved in order to solve the above problems. It is an object of this invention to provide an agent apparatus which has increased security and can respond to suit individuals, thereby increasing convenience.
The agent apparatus according to a first aspect of this invention comprises an individual recognition unit (individual recognition section 16 in the embodiment) which recognizes individuals who use a vehicle; a memory unit (memory apparatus 8 in the embodiment) which stores agent data (agent A for individual 33 and agent B for individual 34 in the embodiment) corresponding to each individual recognized by the individual recognition unit; a selection unit (agent selection section for individual 20 in the embodiment) which selects agent data corresponding to a specific individual recognized by the individual recognition unit from the agent data stored in the memory unit; and a response unit (voice control section 14, display control section 15, and communication control section 23 in the embodiment) which responds to the individual based on the agent data selected by the selection unit.
According to the above constitution, security is increased since the individual recognition unit recognizes the individual. The individual recognition unit recognizes the individual, and the selection unit selects agent data corresponding to the individual from the agent data stored in the memory unit. Based on the result of the selection, the response unit makes a response which is suited to the individual, thereby increasing convenience.
The individual recognition unit may comprise a number recognition unit which recognizes a secret code number of the individual, a voice recognition unit which recognizes the voice of the individual, an image recognition unit which recognizes the image of the individual, and the like.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the agent apparatus of the first aspect further comprises an input unit (input control section 13 and voice control section 14 in the embodiment) which inputs commands from individuals who use a vehicle; a command execution unit (on-board device monitor/control section 17 in the embodiment) which executes commands input from the input unit; and a learning unit (agent learning section 21 in the embodiment) which changes the content of the agent data stored in the memory unit in accordance with commands input from the input unit.
According to the above constitution, the learning unit changes the content of the agent data stored in the memory unit in accordance with commands input from the input unit. Therefore, the agent apparatus can learn the preferences and the like of the individuals who use the vehicle, and functions better the more it is used by each individual. This further increases convenience.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the agent apparatus of the first and second aspects further comprises an on-board communication unit (on-board telephone in the embodiment)which transmits a response from the response unit to a portable communication unit (mobile telephone 11 in the embodiment) carried by an individual who will use the vehicle, and receives commands from the individual who will use the vehicle which are transmitted from the portable communication unit.
According to the above constitution, the on-board communication unit transmits a response to a portable communication unit which is carried by the user at a separate location, making it possible to assist the user at a separate location. Moreover, commands can be transmitted from the portable communication unit which is carried by the user at a separate location to the on-board communication unit, enabling him to set the status of the vehicle. Therefore, convenience is further increased.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the agent apparatus according to one of the first to third aspects comprises a response unit which responds by using an impersonation method.
According to the above constitution, the response unit responds by using an impersonation method, making the vehicle appear more friendly. Incidentally, xe2x80x9cimpersonationxe2x80x9d comprises not only artificial human voices which are artificially produced by the vehicle and the agent apparatus mounted therein, but also artificial voices of animals, imaginary creatures, etc.
The response unit can comprise an image creation unit which creates images of impersonated characters, and a display unit which displays the images created by the image creation unit. Furthermore, the response unit can comprise a voice creation unit which creates voices for the impersonated characters, and a voice output unit which outputs the voices created by the voice creation unit.